Warbler Guy, do female warblers sing? If so, which female warblers have songs? Or do only male warblers sing?

Nice question, Bernice (in Mondovi, CA).

At least nine species of temperate zone wood-warblers (representing six genera: Vermivora, Dendroica, Setophaga, Seiurus, Geothlypis, and Wilsonia) have been confirmed as singers based on field studies (Evans Ogden, Neudorf, Pitcher, and Strutchbury, 2003).

Given merely a minority of females sing among the world’s 4,000+ songbird species, what’s the payoff for this vocal behavior? One theory is that female singers may be adopting male-like behavior, especially among older females (Nolan, 1978). Another theory suggests female song results from female-female conflicts occurring in dense populations (Hobson and Sealy, 1990) or may be a function in intra-pair contact (Gilbert and Carroll, 1999).

Among the singing wood-warblers in the U.S., Dunn & Garrett state in Warblers (1997) that Yellow Warbler (ABOVE photo, a female, courtesy of the US Fish & Wildlife Service) song has been documented in at least one population in Manitoba, Canada (Dunn & Garrett, 1997).

Likewise, these two authors suggest in the same field guide that American Redstart females sing sporadically to rarely (if at all).

FAB FIVE WARBLER QUIZ #4

Can you identify the wood-warblers in each of the following five photos?....
(by clicking on the "Post A Comment" and listing them in order from the topmost photo through to the bottommost one) Note that you can click "anonymous" to "Post A Comment" and, if you wish, leave your name and city at the bottom of your warbler identity list.

Warbler Guy, which wood-warbler sang first in the movie The Social Network's sound track background? Why was it probably the wrong species?

Good question, Dr. Watson? -- err, I mean Erica (in Palo Alto, CA).

Indeed, long antennae make fine decisions when identifying birds by ear.

So how could a Wilson's Warbler (ABOVE photo) sing near Harvard's campus in the crew racing scene that appears
soon after The Social Network begins?

This vexing question is valid because Wilson's only passes through the Harvard University area (Massachusetts) as a spring and fall transient.

BUT the scene in the movie depicts a summer atmosphere, post migration, when Wilson's would already be farther north on breeding grounds.

Ho-hum. Another movie that cares little that birders compose a portion of the audience.

We are listening, Hollywood. You have it wrong. Our antennae are long.

Film on the floor. Cut up.

Take 2.

Warbler Guy, what are the latest AOU species split proposals? Are Yellow-Rumped Warbler subspecies going to change in number?

(UPDATE: The article below is outdated, given recent name classification changes. Thus, see the 3/7/11 article here at this blog for an update in relation to the Yellow-rumped Warbler split into various subspecies.)

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There's an excellent article to read All About It, Robert Z., if you go to:

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Yd49IBdFo0AJ:www.aou.org/committees/nacc/proposals/2010-A.pdf+N%26MA+Classification+Committee:+Proposals+2010-A&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiQx0NrFLMAaHiuZO1xsoZJA8jVBbR9tkyZKsf3lY-yVguig9hgn3k_daL3GJS9zXh3_1qyLAG0-6_SQnW5MOMeXOMZtpmoFJfMkJK0I5u4bXrRTAYKGi2mufhKbIpxQ4zMp6W7&sig=AHIEtbT4UG6CTa2FPSpfq8mjDUi9WRv26A

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That's a huge Web site address to copy and paste, I know.....but it's worthwhile reading.

You'll learn the potential options for classifying Yellow-Rumped Warbler that the American Ornithological Union (AOU) committee is debating.

Meanwhile, where I live in the Bay Area (CA), it's common to see two subspecies in many habitats during the non-breeding season:

1. Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata coronata)
2. Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata auduboni)

Warbler Guy, which wood-warblers remain in the USA after the breeding season?

Bridget, the answer to your question won’t take you long to read.

Among the breeding 52 North American wood-warblers, only a minority occur in the USA during the non-breeding season:
- Common Yellowthroat
- Black-throated Green
- Northern Parula
- Pine
- Orange-crowned (south Channel Islands, CA and along the California coast)
- Yellow-throated (southeast USA)
- Tropical Parula (in the extreme southern portion of Texas)
- Prairie (a subspecies in south Florida)
- Painted Redstart (southeast Arizona)

South of the USA, here’s some more North American wood-warblers that have non-migratory populations breeding as far north as Mexico:
- Belding’s Yellowthroat (Baja only)
- Bahama Yellowthroat
- Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
- Slate-Throated Redstart
- Crescent-Chested
- Fan-tailed Warbler
- Golden-crowned Warbler
- Rufous-capped Warbler

A few other species are reported rarely to irregularly after the breeding season in the USA, and, thus, could potentially be individuals that remain in the USA during a portion or throughout their brief lives, including:

- Tennessee
- American Redstart
- Nashville

Warbler Guy, what are the latest bird name changes (in the 51st AOU Checklist supplement)?

Good question, Jeremy (one of my most frequent Warbler Guy inquirers).

Check out David Sibley's article about the latest American Ornithological Union-based common bird name changes at:

http://www.sibleyguides.com/2010/07/bird-name-changes-in-the-51st-aou-checklist-supplement/

At this link, you'll see name changes at both the genera (scientic name) and common name level for North American songbirds. For wood-warblers, only scientific name changes have occurred, principally in the genera Vermivora and Seirus (with the latter, after the changes, now containing ONLY one member: Ovenbird).

By the way, changes in the common names of birds is available for purchase at the AOU's web site where you can obtain the 51st Annual AOU Checklist Supplement.

Warbler Guy, how did so many kinds of wood-warblers evolve?

Joe (in Kincaid, OR), I'll answer that excellent question more fully soon, but first let me point you to an
excellent related article in a birding blog:

http://dendroica.blogspot.com/2008/07/evolution-of-wood-warblers.html